With talk of the Russian’s possible retirement on the tip of the tongue, Brown admitted today that he considered hanging it up after his most recent fight, a unanimous-decision defeat that brought him face to face with back-to-back losses.

But after a period of reflection, Brown (24-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC) decided that he wouldn’t call it career. And now, he’s getting after it once again when he fights Nam Phan (16-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 133.

“It’s my passion,” Brown today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s what I love; it’s what I’d do for free.

“Obviously, money is good as well, but I love the sport. It’s something I want to do, and I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.”

Brown and Phan meet on the preliminary card of the Aug. 6 event, which takes place at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Brown is the second fight of the night, a steep fall from his headliner status as a featherweight champion of the now-defunct WEC. A TKO loss to Jose Aldo in November 2009 took his belt and touched off a series of peaks and valleys in his next three contests.

But it was a split decision loss to Diego Nunes at UFC 125 – his first fight in the octagon in six years – and a gamble gone wrong with a short-notice fight and decision loss to Rani Yahya that sent him into a downward spiral. He was 2-4 with the loss to Aldo and in serious danger of losing his job.

“I was seriously considering retiring,” Brown said of his state after the fight at “UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2.” “I thought, ‘Maybe it’s time.’ I don’t want to be in the sport if I’m not good at it because I’m losing. It’s the wrong sport to be in if you’re losing.”

Brown didn’t want to be a stepping stone or gatekeeper for up-and-comers and lose the brain cells to match. Eventually, though, he stepped back from the abyss.

“I just took a few days and talked to my friends and family,” Brown said. “I still have it. When I train, I’m good. I know I can beat anybody in the world on a given night.

Meeting him this Saturday is Phan, who is looking to improve his fortunes after he caught a bum decision against Leonard Garcia in his first octagon appearance since a turn on “The Ultimate Fighter 11.” He, too, knows the sting of a rut, as he carries an identical 2-4 record in the past three years of competition.

And while Brown likes Phan personally, he doesn’t ever want to go back to the place from which he emerged.

“I get motivated because I hate to lose, and I get scared of losing a fight, so I take them all equally important,” he said.

And while he may not be successful, he still loves his job, and that’s enough to fight on.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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